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Rh Estimated consumption of jute 1906–1907.

Statistics of consumption of jute, rejections and cuttings.

A number of experiments in jute cultivation were made during 1906, and the report showed that very encouraging results were obtained from land manured with cow-dung. If more scientific attention be given to the cultivation it is quite possible that what is now considered as 100% yield may be exceeded.

Characteristics.—The characters by which qualities of jute are judged are colour, lustre, softness, strength, length, firmness, uniformity and absence of roots. The best qualities are of a clear whitish-yellow colour, with a fine silky lustre, soft and smooth to the touch, and fine, long and uniform in fibre. When the fibre is intended for goods in the natural colour it is essential that it should be of a light shade and uniform, but if intended for yarns which are to be dyed a dark shade, the colour is not so important. The cultivated plant yields a fibre with a length of from 6 to 10 ft., but in exceptional cases it has been known to reach 14 or 15 ft. in length. The fibre is decidedly inferior to flax and hemp in strength and tenacity; and, owing to a peculiarity in its microscopic structure, by which the walls of the separate cells composing the fibre vary much in thickness at different points, the single strands of fibre are of unequal strength. Recently prepared fibre is always stronger, more lustrous, softer and whiter than such as has been stored for some time—age and exposure rendering it brown in colour and harsh and brittle in quality. Jute, indeed, is much more woody in texture than either flax or hemp, a circumstance which may be easily demonstrated by its behaviour under appropriate reagents; and to that fact is due the change in colour and character it undergoes on exposure to the air. The fibre bleaches with facility, up to a certain point, sufficient to enable it to take brilliant and delicate shades of dye colour, but it is with great difficulty brought to a pure white by bleaching. A very striking and remarkable fact, which has much practical interest, is its highly hygroscopic nature. While in a dry position and atmosphere it may not possess more than 6% of moisture, under damp conditions it will absorb as much as 23%.

Sir G. Watt, in his Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, mentions the following eleven varieties of jute fibre: Serajganji, Narainganji, Desi, Deora, Uttariya, Deswāl, Bākrabadi, Bhatial, Karimginji, Mirganji and Jungipuri. There are several other varieties of minor importance. The first four form the four classes into which the commercial fibre is divided, and they are commonly known as Serajgunge, Naraingunge, Daisee and Dowrah. Serajgunge is a soft fibre, but it is superior in colour, which ranges from white to grey. Naraingunge is a strong fibre, possesses good spinning qualities, and is very suitable for good warp yarns. Its colour, which is not so high as Serajgunge, begins with a cream shade and approaches red at the roots. All the better class yarns are spun from these two kinds. Daisee is similar to Serajgunge in softness, is of good quality and of great length; its drawback is the low colour, and hence it is not so suitable for using in natural colour. It is, however, a valuable fibre for carpet yarns, especially for dark yarns. Dowrah is a strong, harsh and low quality fibre, and is used principally for heavy wefts. Each class is subdivided according to the quality and colour of the material, and each class receives a distinctive mark called a baler’s mark. Thus, the finest fibres may be divided as follows:—

The lower qualities are, naturally, divided into fewer varieties.

Each baler has his own marks, the fibres of which are guaranteed equal in equality to some standard mark. It would be impossible to give a list of the different marks, for there are hundreds, and new marks are constantly being added. A list of all the principal marks is issued in book form by the Calcutta Jute Baler’s association.

The relative prices of the different classes depend upon the crop, upon the demand and upon the quality of the fibre; in 1905 the prices of Daisee jute and First Marks were practically the same, although the former is always considered inferior to the latter. It does not follow that a large crop of jute will result in low prices, for the year 1906–1907 was not only a record one for crops, but also for prices. R. F. C. grade has been as high as £40 per ton, while its lowest recorded price is £12. Similarly the price for First Marks reached £29, 15s. in 1906 as compared with £9, 5s. per ton in 1897. The following table shows a few well-known grades with the average prices during December for the years 1903, 1904, 1905 and 1906.

Jute Manufacture.—Long before jute came to occupy a prominent place amongst the textile fibres of Europe, it formed